It's an old song. We're gonna sing it anyway.

A long time ago, back when I was a freshman in undergrad, someone asked me what it was that made me feel alive. I actually have a whole other blog about it (this is in fact the third blog I have attempted to run). It's been a question I've been struggling with ever since. At times the answer has been "NOTHING" and at times it's been things that have come and gone. In Oxford, the answer became "video games", and that ended up in a BPhil Thesis largely about Commander Shepard and Lara Croft, so these things can work out well. But there are a few things that I think have had even more staying power than that in my mind.

I wish I could say that one of them was Philosophy - I have two degrees in it after all and hope to one day gain a third, and teach. Or at least I think I do. And yes, there are bits of philosophy - still mostly Plato and Aristotle - which I greatly enjoy (but not, it turns out, enough to make them my BPhil specialization). But no, there's one thing that 'caught' me when I was young and still has me very much in its teeth, as it were, and if you've read any other post on this blog or even the title up there ^^ you might know that it is Mythology.

And can I just say? What a time to be alive, and a lover of mythology! One of the chief beauties of mythology is in it's retelling - they are stories we tell over and over again, and maybe they change a bit each time, that's okay. We tell them anyway. And maybe they're sad, and maybe we don't want to know, and maybe they're flat out bad - we tell them, and retell them, and change them, and embrace them. Mythological stories are weird and wrong and good and awful and they repeat something deep in the hearts of humankind. They are our archtypes and our motifs, and their message is at once essential to them and also changes with every telling. 

There is a LOT of mythology which with I am unfamiliar. And I haven't done a terrific job fixing that, over the years. I mostly know Greek and Roman myth, and Norse myth, with a smattering of Sumerian and Celtic myth mixed in, and a vague awareness of other cultures, like those native to the Americas, or those farther east or farther south (eg africa) or myths whose home are islands. There's a whole wide world of myth I don't know. But what I do know, I love.

It's hard to put a finger on why. But I care. A Lot. About the Gods. They're absolutely terrible, and I love them. I love their ancient stories, and I love the modern ones too. I've been listening to Hadestown on repeat for about a week now. I've read and re-read Lore Olympus and Percy Jackson, and as you probably already know, I watched and re-watched Xena: Warrior Princess even tho I didn't really encounter it growing up. I love Assassin's Creed: Odyssey because of its historical and mythic setting. And that's just the greek ones! Norse myth is even more mythic, and has just as many modern adaptions, from Marvel's Thor: Ragnarok to Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice to God of War. 

I also love seeing how the god have impacted culture in less obvious ways. Like the language we use. For instance, did you know that cereal is named for a god? Ceres (pronounced 'Keres') is the Roman Demeter, goddess of harvest, mother of Persephone, sister of Zeus, and daughter of Rhea. Other words as well. Like jovial, or chronology, or Thursday. And that's just linguistic! Culturally, the gods are archtypes, several of which have survived to modern day. Foremost among these I believe are Aphroditie and Ares - Venus and Mars - Beauty and War. They were idols of the greeks, and are still idols of our time. If you don't think that American culture in particular is devoted to Venus and Mars, then I've got a long spiel for you. (Funnily enough, Ares and Aphrodite are the only two gods who survive to the end of Xena too, which fits the themes and plot of the show, but also feels a bit prophetic). The gods are, or can be, dangerous as well, in this sense. Real danger. They are, in fact, idols. And they are more than just carved images. They are ideas. And they might be more than that.

The long and short of it is, I have a lot of thoughts about the gods. And I have nothing to do with them. I feel like I need a project or some place to put all of this - besides rambling to my friends, who I'm sure are growing tired of it. I have before considered making a podcast or something, although those are a lot harder to do on your own. And I know they already exist elsewhere. There are already podcasts telling all the stories of the gods. But what is mythology without our retelling? I don't know exactly what I'm going to do with this. But I'd like to do something. Any of you wanna hear some stories? 

Thank you for reading. Often when I get into all of this, I have friends who have one of two reactions. Either they brush this stuff off like it can't be *that* important to me - but it is. If I could build my life and career on this, I would. I'm still trying to figure out how - or they act like it *shouldn't* be this important to me. Sometimes people even get scarred. All this talk of idols and gods. But I believe that the gods tell us about humanity, and about good and bad, and I believe that those things in turn teach us about God. Some of the most meaningful lessons I have learned of late about life and love and God have come THROUGH these stories - and it is these stories that give these lessons their staying and punching power.

I could say a lot more but I want to finish this up. Thank you again. Let me know if you want to hear some old, old stories.

R

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below. Praise him above ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.